Every Detail Matters: A Lesson From Amy Lamott

“There is ecstasy in paying attention... Anyone who wants to can be surprised by the beauty or pain of the natural world, of the human mind and heart, and can try to capture just that - the details, the nuance, what is. If you start to look around, you will start to see.” ― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird Since we are talking about growth and development books this week, I am currently reading "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" by Amy Lamott. In this book, Amy gives simple advice to help improve our writing skills, and it can also apply to our lives . She goes over topics in the book, but something that stood out to me is when she mentions for her readers to pay close attention to details. By doing this, we improve our lives as we slow down and smell the roses. Paying close attention to details can transform your writing from boring to interesting and unique! This allows us to enjoy things that we tend to miss in life. Art is a perfect example of someone noticing the details. Salvador Dali has amazing pieces of artwork that are incredibly detailed. I could easily spend a great amount of time studying one art piece because the details are so profound and meaningful. If the viewer is not careful, they will miss something special and important about the piece. In studying artwork, we begin noticing details that are valuable to the piece. Without the detail in the painting the piece would lack character and would look like every other artwork we see. Every day you could look around wherever you are as a challenge to develop a keen eye on the details around you. What do you hear? What do you see? What do things around you feel like? Begin describing those things in detail and you will begin to appreciate minute details more. If you are a writer, I encourage you to read this book and you will learn helpful tips to enhance your writing!